


Memories of You

by naripetal



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Suicide, Suicide Notes, akeshu if you squint, in my heart its a ship that set sail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 00:01:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13306116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naripetal/pseuds/naripetal
Summary: Akechi sits in Leblanc one night and wonders about his life.





	Memories of You

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a study on Akechi and his relationship with his mother based on little things I've picked up from him in game and via the official art book.
> 
> Also super thanks to my friend for helping me out with the editing.
> 
> (Formatting's probably a bit weird but I'll go back and fix it when I figure it out)

Goro sipped his cup of coffee in an empty Leblanc. The light patter of rain hitting the building echoed throughout the cafe. Sojiro was cleaning dishes from the dinner rush. The rich aroma of curry and coffee filled Goro’s nostrils. Despite Leblanc being a café, it felt like a home to the young man. 

He looked down at the cup in front of him and softly smiled to himself.

‘Home.’

His thoughts wandered to his late mother. He thought of her smile, her warmth and all the pain she hid behind that kind smile of hers. 

 

‘Children found dead in the Inaba River…’

 

Goro broke out of his thoughts at the sound of the news report and glanced up at the television.

 

‘….reports indicate that the perpetrator, the father, drowned the children after an altercation in the home.’

 

Akechi stole a glance at Sojiro, who was shaking his head.

 

“Stupid people these days. May those kids rest in peace.”

 

Akechi nodded and focused on the television. He would not be asked about this topic in his upcoming interviews, since it did not pertain to the Phantom Thieves, but he always kept up with the latest crimes.

 

‘…father was found dead in a nearby vehicle and authorities are now calling this a double homicide and suicide.’

 

“What do you think, detective?” Akechi’s ears perked up, and he turned to Sojiro. 

“About the case or the father?” Akechi spoke and Sojiro responded.

“The father.”

 

‘Absolute garbage’ was what Akechi wanted to say, but he still had somewhat of a reputation to hold up as the charismatic detective. Instead, Akechi tucked his thumb under his chin and brought a gloved finger to his lips in order to find a way to eloquently frame his coarse opinion. 

 

“It seems to me the father did not consider the dire repercussions of his actions.”

 

“That much is obvious, kid.” Sojiro scoffed as he put a plate away before he continued “What do you think was going through his head when he decided to shoot himself?” 

 

For once, Akechi did not have a response to a question. What does go through someone’s head when they kill themselves? He knows what goes through his mind when he invokes mental shutdowns. He knows what goes through the minds of the people who are aware that they are at risk of receiving a mental shutdown. Would it be the same if he put himself on the other side of the gun? 

 

Sojiro’s voice broke him out of his thoughts.  
“Take your time, kid. It’s a hard question to answer.” 

 

Akechi asked Sojiro for his thoughts on the matter. Sojiro clicked his tongue before answering.

“If I had to come up with an answer on the dot, I’d say: fear.”

Akechi raised an eyebrow. “Fear?”

 

Before Sojiro could answer, the doorbell jingled. They turned to see a customer, and Sojiro greeted them. He then turned to Akechi to answer his question.

“Fear of living and atoning for your actions.” 

Akechi nodded, and Sojiro went to attend to the new customer. 

 

Akechi took a sip of his coffee as he thought about the person who knew the most about fear: his mother. His mother who spent most of her time indoors, living in fear of the outside world. Even though she lived in fear, she always spent her time with Akechi in some way. On Sunday mornings, he would be found nestled in her lap, watching an episode of Featherman. Before bedtime, she would always read him a story about a thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. 

 

While he enjoyed his solitary life with his mother, he would always try to get her to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. In the off chance that she did muster the courage to be outdoors; Akechi always asked her to go to a nearby park. However, their fun would usually be ruined by talks of Shido’s rise to power. He never understood why his mother negatively reacted to his name but, he knew Shido must have done something to hurt his beloved mother.

 

He never knew to what extent Shido hurt his mother until he found her; drowned in her own vomit.

 

Goro had just come home from school; giddy to tell his mother about the story his teacher read in class. Instead of seeing his mom at the door waiting for him; he was met with an eerily quiet home. 

“Mom?” He called out as he walked towards the bathroom. As he reached for the doorknob, he noticed that the door to his mother’s room was slightly ajar. He walked in and found her asleep in her bed. He skipped over, with the intention to cuddle in for an afternoon nap. When he was close enough to her, an acidic smell filled his nostrils. It made his stomach churn, but he paid it no mind, and he made himself comfortable at her side. He pressed his ear against her heart, to listen to a heartbeat that did not come. He panicked. He could not hear her heartbeat or feel her breathe. He jumped up in a hurry and shook her. He felt a wet substance fall onto his arm. He stopped and looked down to find a trail of bile starting from his mother's lips had fallen onto his arm. 

Fear quickly consumed him as he began to frantically shake his mother. When he realized that she would not wake up if he kept up his actions, he ran out to call for help.

‘She’s going to be fine.’ He told himself.

 

When the paramedics arrived, it was far too late. His mother had been dead two hours before Goro found her.

As the paramedics prepared the body bag, Goro pushed past his neighbor, ran past the paramedics, fell to his knees and clung to his mother’s corpse, begging her to wake up. His hoarse, desperate pleas filled the room. His puffy, red eyes burned but it all paled in comparison to his aching heart. His heart that held all of the love in the world for his mother was now broken into pieces. All he could do was sit by her and cry because he was not enough for her. 

 

‘If I was stronger...’ he told himself ‘she would still be here.’ 

 

He felt arms wrap around his torso to lift him but he held onto to her for dear life. He begged the medic to let him go but they tore him away from her form. He was handed over to his neighbor, who kept a tight grasp on him, as he squirmed in their arms. He was left with no other choice but to watch as the medics put her in the body bag. Newfound tears rolled down his face and silent screams filled his thoughts.

 

‘Mom! Please open your eyes!’

‘Mom! Please don’t leave me!’

‘Mom! I’m sorry I was bad!’

 

“Please…” he croaked “come back, I’ll be a good boy.”

 

The authorities were quick to rule her death as a suicide and closed the case. After the funeral, the authorities contacted Goro’s relatives and they all denied any relation to his mother. As a result, they gave Goro her suicide note. In it, she answered the question Goro asked for years: Who was his father? 

According to the letter: Shido and her were in a healthy relationship. Shido was young, charismatic, charming and ambitious. She was an up and coming politician. When they met, Shido was eager to help change Japan for the better, and she believed in his cause. As a result, she did everything she could to help him get his name out there. 

 

Once he was recognized by the heavily influential politicians, his desire to make the country better became distorted. He became the corruption that he vowed to destroy. She could not bear to see Shido in that state. She tried to remind him of his goal, their goal, but he pushed her away. It ate her up inside to watch the man she believed would help her change the country for the better become the corruption that he vowed to destroy. As a result, she ended up leaving him. 

 

She, however, did not know she was pregnant with Goro. When she found out, she could not bear to abort him. She knew her decision would be met with a lot of backlash from her family and her friends but she kept him. 

 

When Goro was born, not only was his mother shamed for having a child out of wedlock; she was also shamed for keeping Goro. A few months after Goro was born, she had lost everyone in her life. 

 

She tried to get back into politics when Goro was old enough; however, she failed because of Shido’s widespread influence. In addition, many politicians used her background as a single mother to destroy any attempts she made at campaigning. She soon realized if Shido found out about her; she would no doubt have to disappear again in order to protect Goro from him. There was no way Shido would allow anyone who was a threat to his public image live. 

 

The rest of the letter was filled with apologies to Goro, but he paid them no mind for he was filled with a suffocating thirst for justice against all those who hurt his mother. It was in that moment that young Goro vowed revenge against Shido. 

 

He let out a soft chuckle at the memory. It seemed that he has gone down a similar path as Shido: wearing the mask of justice but causing injustice after injustice- all for his own personal gain. However, he could not help but wonder what she would think about his current situation.

 

Would she be happy that he was going after Shido? Probably not. 

Would have he gone after Shido at all if she was still alive? 

 

He wondered how different his life would have been if she was still alive. 

 

Would he and his mother be living happily in a little apartment?

Would she be happy?

Would he have been bestowed the powers he was given if they were happily living together? 

 

He took a sip of his drink and pondered about his powers.

 

Would he have been given the power to access the Metaverse?

If so, would he be fighting alongside Akira and the others or on his own?

Would he have Robin Hood at his side or Loki?

Would he have the same ‘wild card’ power as Akira?

 

His mind wandered to the raven haired boy. 

 

Would he be friends with the boy if none of this happened? 

 

None of these questions would be answered by the time he finished his cup- or any to be realistic. However, it did not stop the young man from hoping that a version of himself in some alternate reality had all those answers and was satisfied with their life.

 

A bell jingle broke him out of his thoughts. He turned to see Akira, who was coming back from exploring the metaverse, in a fatigued state. 

“You’re back awfully late.” He smugly commented, sure that Akira had no idea that he knew of his secret double life. 

Akira smiled at him, and he felt his heart skip a beat. 

 

“Honey, I’m home.”


End file.
